Changping graft-busters learn to spot ‘tells’

The anti-corruption bureau of the Changping district procuratorate has begun to implement techniques for reading “micro-expressions” of corruption suspects during questioning.

To prepare themselves for the new interrogation style, the corruption-fighters reportedly completed more than a year of “theoretical work” in collaboration with the Legal Information Centre of the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

Professor Jiang Zhenning, who runs the Centre, is now set to lead a team of expert psychologists who will act as observers and advisors during interrogations before becoming active participants.

The deputy director of Changping’s Investigation Department said the training provided by Jiang expanded the horizons of the department and offered a “highly professional approach” to conducting interrogations.

Authorities said findings drawn directly from the study of “micro-expressions” would be used to help interrogators hone in on signs of untruth, not as evidence in court.

Changping is located about 34 kilometers (21 miles) from central Beijing.

In December 2011, a Beijing court handed a death sentence to Yang Liqiang, a former accountant in Changping’s finance bureau, for misappropriating more than 51 million yuan ($8.1 million) in public funds to pay off gambling debts.

Sources: Procuratorates Daily (检察日报), Jinghua Times (京华时报)

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Ben Kessler is the editor of the China Anti-Corruption Handbook, the most detailed study ever published of anti-corruption enforcement in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. This is the final week to pre-order the book at a 33% discount.

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